World’s Best Beers?

While cleaning out my den, I found a copy of the December 2006 issue of the Bottom Line Secrets newsletter which had an article listeins ten of what they considered to be the World’s Best Beers.  Given the age of the article, I’m cutting them some slack in their choices, but here are the ten beers they considered to be the world’s best about seven years ago:

1. Achel Trappist Extra – A Belgian Strong Dark Ale from Brouwerij der St. Benedictusabdij de Achelse which gets a 95/100 on Beer Advocate.
2. Alaskan Smoked Porter from Alaskan Brewing Co. which gets a 93/100 on Beer Advocate.
3. Anchor Liberty Ale from Anchor Brewing in San Francisco, which gets an 88/100 from Beer Advocate.
4. Czechvar, which is an alias for Budweiser Budvar from Brewery Budweiser Budvar in the Czech Republic and gets an 82/100 on Beer Advocate.  I’m a bit skeptical about any “world’s best” list including a product from one of the big macro-brewers…
5. Harvey’s “A. Le Coq” Imperial Extra Double Stout from Harvey & Son Ltd. in the UK.  Beer Advocate doesn’t think so much of this one (78/100).
6. Mariage Parfait – a Lambic beer from Brouweij Boon in Belgium, which gets a 93/100 rating on Beer Advocate.
7. Samichlaus (Swiss-German for Santa Claus) from Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg in Austria.  This 14% ABV Doppelbock gets 89/100 on Beer Advocate.
8. Schneider Aventinus Weizenbock from Weisses Brauhaus G. Schneider & Sohn GmbH in Germany.  I’ve actually had this beer and agree that it’s a good one.  World’s best?  I don’t know.  Beer Advocate says 94/100.
9. Super Baladin from Italy’s Birrificio Le Baladin.  Beer Advocate rates it 87/100.  I’ve not had it, but La Baladin Nora I really loved.
10. Traquair House Ale from the Traquair House Brewery in the UK.  This Scotch Wee Heavy ale gets a 100/100 from Beer Advocate, so it may indeed be a really good one. 

 

The beers on this list that I haven’t had, I’ll have to try seeking out locally.  Perhaps I’ll find some favorites among them.  Traquair House Ale in particular gets my attention because its ratings are so high.

New Holland Full Circle Kolsch (6/10)

New Holland Brewing Company is located in Holland, Michigan.  Full Circle is their Kolsch style beer and is generally available year-round.

It pours a clear amber color with a thin, white head that dissipates fast.

The aroma is mostly floral, with some hops mixed in.

The flavor is a slightly hoppy balance of malt, toasted grain, and hops.

Beer Advocate rates this an 82 or "good" while Rate Beer gives New Holland Full Circle  a 44 overall and a 72 for the style.

I sampled this beer at The Daily Growler in Upper Arlington.  I've not seen it for sale at local retailers, but I would imagine that you can find it somewhere in town.

ABV: 4.9%
IBU: Unknown, but I'd estimate in the upper 20's
My Rating: 6/10

Kona Brewing Longboard Island Lager (6/10)

I first heard of Kona Brewing at the Columbus Winter Beerfest in January 2013.  They had a number of their products available for sampling, including this one and their Koko Brown, which is brewed with toasted coconut.  Longboard Lager is a fairly standard lager beer, reportedly fermented and aged for weeks at cold temperatures to make it smoother.

Since I had it from the bottle, I can't speak to its appearance or head.

The aroma was midly hoppy.

The flavor is well-balanced, with a slight tip toward hops.  It's not bad at all, but not exceptional either.  I think if you poured it into a glass and told me it was a Budweiser I'd have a hard time finding a reason to argue with you.  It's one of those beers I'd drink again, depending on the alternatives available at the time, but not one I'd be likely to pick up for my fridge at home.

Beer Advocate rates Kona Longboard Island Lager a 78 or "average" and RateBeer gives Longboard a 29 (or a 71 for the style).

I had this particular beer at a restaurant in Hilliard (which was a bad experience, so I'm not mentioning them here).  I've seen it for sale at Ale Wine and Spirits of Powell, The Andersons General Store, and Whole Foods in Dublin.

ABV:  4.6%
IBU:  20
My Rating: 6/10

De Dolle Arabier (2/10)

De Dolle Arabier is a Belgian Strong Pale Ale.

Like all the De Dolle beers I've had, it seems almost excessively carbonated.  It pours with an enormous, thick, persistent white head that leaves behind a fair amount of lacing.

The aroma is slightly hoppy with some citrus.

The flavor starts a bit sour, followed by a major hit of hops bitterness.  It's the kind of bitterness that stays with you long after you've finished drinking.  If there are any of the usual Belgian flavors here, I can't find them behind the wall of hops bitterness in this brew.  It's a perfect example of why I usually don't drink Pale Ales or IPAs.  I just don't find them pleasant.

Clearly, though, I'm in the minority on this one.  Rate Beer gives De Dolle Arabier a 97 overall.  Beer Advocate rates it a 91-97 out of 100, either "exceptional" or "world-class".

I tried this particular bottle at The Winking Lizard Tavern on Bethel Road.  I've not seen it for sale at any of the local retailers I've visited.

ABV: 8%
IBU:  Unknown, but I'd estimate at above 40 or 50
My Rating: 2/10

Columbus Summer Beerfest 2013

A group of us attended the Columbus Summer Beerfest at the LC Pavilion on Saturday.  This was my second time at the festival.  It seemed better organized this year than last (though there was really nothing wrong with it last year).  Attendance looked to be much higher than last year, too, though I’ve not seen official numbers.

As VIP ticket holders, we were able to enter the festival earlier than general admission attendees.  This is advantageous if you are interested in any of the limited availability beers being offered, such as cask-conditioned ales.  It also gives you time to get around and see everything before it gets overly crowded.

Columbus Summer Beefest 2013 VIP Entry Gate

Once inside the VIP gates, we were able to visit the food trucks inside and begin sampling beer.

Food Truck Area just inside the VIP gate

Entry to the main festival area was through the back of the parking lot. 

In addition to food from the food trucks, soft drinks, and of course a lot of beer, the festival featured live music on the LC Pavilion stage throughout the event.

Main Beerfest Area with stage featuring live music

I sampled many different beers during the festival, including:

• 5 Lizard Passionfruit Wit:  On the sour side, but the passion fruit flavor came through strongly.
• Elevator Brewing’s Dirty Dick’s Nut Brown Ale:  A nice version of this classic beer style
• Rockmill Cask Aged Tripel:  One of the better beers I had at the festival
• Steen Brugge Tripel:  Slightly hoppy but a good beer
• One of the Dogfish Head cask aged beers (not sure which it was)
• North Coast Pranqster
• Goose Island Pepe Nero
• Goose Island Matilda
• Thirsty Dog Barrel Aged Wee Heavy:  an excellent beer

And there were probably quite a few more that I don’t remember.

Overall, it was nice event, well run, well attended, and a lot of fun.  I’m already looking forward to next year’s!

Unibroue Terrible (8/10)

Unibroue is a Canadian brewer known for a number of fine beers, including La Fin Du Monde (one of my personal favorites), Trois Pistoles, and Blanche de Chambly (among many others).  Terrible is a Dark Ale on Lees brewed with spices and fermented in the bottle.

The aroma is primarily of yeast, hinting at the bottle based fermentation.  Beyond that, you'll smell fruit and a hint of spice.

The color is a very nearly completely opaque chestnut brown, very close to black.  The parts you can see a bit of light through appear to be very clear.

The head is incredibly thick when the beer is first poured, as you can see in the photo at the left.  The head is a light brown color and persists for quite a while before finally settling down.  It leaves behind rings of lacing around the glass.

It takes a certain amount of guts to name a beer "Terrible".  Although it's been named "Terrible", this beer is anything but.  The flavor starts a bit sweet, with a definite red wine note to it.  This is followed by some very mild bitterness, just enough to counterbalance the other flavors.  I get hints of dried fruits like apricots or prunes, along with some Belgian-style spice.  It's a complex but very satisfying flavor. Along with the very complex flavor comes a bit of an alcohol burn, which isn't surprising since the beer is 10.5% alcohol by volume.  The only things keeping me from giving this beer a perfect 10 are that I'd like a bit more spice to poke through and I'd like the alcohol to be more "warming" and less "burning".  Apart from those two minor criticisms, it's a great beer and I look forward to having more of it in the future.

This beer was purchased at Palmer's Beverage Center on Indianola a couple of months ago.  I've not seen it recently at any other retailers, but I'll be keeping an eye out for it.

ABV:  10.5%
IBU:  15 (per the brewer)
My Rating: 8/10

North Coast Blue Star Wheat Beer (5/10)

North Coast Brewing Company's Brother Thelonius is one of my favorite beers.  Blue Star is their version of the classic wheat beer.  It features a fairly basic recipe, which includes an American hops variety.

The beer pours a cloudy amber, with a very thick off-white head, as you can see in the photo.

The aroma is fairly non-descript.  I get some yeast and a bit of hops.

Like most wheat beers, the flavor in Blue Star Wheat Beer is fairly mild and plain.  The hops strain used makes it just a hair more bitter than some others, but not in any way an intense bitterness.  The hops also gives it a bit of grapefruit citrus flavor.  It's definitely easy enough to drink.

As an example of wheat beers, I would probably rate this 7-8 out of 10.  But I'm giving it overall a 5/10 because it just doesn't impress me compared to so many other beers on the market, including others from North Coast.

Beer Advocate rates North Coast Blue Star Wheat Beer an 81-89, or good.  Rate Beer tends to agree with me on this one, giving it a 48 overall and an 83 for the style.

I received this bottle in a gift pack purchased at Cost Plus World Market. I've seen it on the shelves at The Andersons General Store.

ABV: 4.5%
IBU: 17
My Rating: 5/10

Columbus Wine Festival 2013

The Columbus Wine Festival is an event presented at Franklin Park Conservatory by the Giant Eagle supermarket chain.  It was held on Friday, August 11, and Saturday, August 12, 2013. 

The event features about 300 different wines  and probably 40 different beers.  The admission price gets you 10 wine sample tickets and 10 beer sample tickets (though in practice wine samplers would take beer tickets and vice versa).

A band played live music throughout the event, and a few food trucks and vendors supplied food and soft drinks.  Later in the event, Giant Eagle handed out free bottles of water for attendees.

Although I am not a frequent wine drinker, I found several wines there that I enjoyed and will have again.  Most of the wines (if not all of them) can be purchased at Giant Eagle.  In fact, Giant Eagle provides attendees with an order for that allows them to order the wines they like at the festival and pick them up later.  This might be something for the beer festivals to consider.

My wine taste is far less sophisticated and less well developed than my taste for beer.  Still, I did enjoy the following wines that I sampled at the event:

• Joseph Carr 2011 Chardonnay
• Mia Dolcea 2011 Moscato d’Asti
• Mia Dolcea 2012 Terre Siciliane Pink Moscato
• Barefoot Riesling
• Barefoot Refresh Summer Red
• Madria Sangria Moscato
• Fizz 56 Sparkling Red Wine
• Camelot Cellars Green Apple Riesling

Widmer Brothers Kill Devil Brown Ale

The beer selection wasn’t the focus of the event, and there honestly weren’t many that I enjoyed.  However, the following beers did get my attention and I’ll look forward to trying them again and doing a proper review:

• Samuel Adams Pumpkin
• Samuel Adams Oktoberfest
• Rivertown Pumpkin
• St. Stefanus Blonde
• Widmer Brothers Kill Devil Brown Ale
• Goose Island Pere Jacques

We were there Saturday afternoon.  It was hot and sunny for most of the day, but there were a few places you could go to cool off while enjoying a sample or a bite of food.

If you enjoy wine and beer (especially wine), you’ll find this a pleasant event.  There are enough different wines represented to ensure that you find at least a few you like (if not love), and although the beer selection is considerably smaller it’s not bad.

This would be a great event to attend with friends, as you would be able to sample a wide array of the available beverages, enjoy good food and music, and spend time in the beautiful Conservatory grounds.

Beer Sampling Area

One of the food trucks at the event

The Goose Island Beer Pavilion

The conservatory makes a nice place to have a beer/wine festival

Lots of people enjoying the wines available to sample

Weihenstephaner Vitus (9/10)

Weihenstephaner, located in Feising, Germany, produces Vitus.  Vitus is a single-bock wheat beer that is brewed and stored in monastery cellars for a lengthy period before shipping to customers.

It pours a cloudy, rich gold color with a finger-thick white head that dissipates slowly.

The aroma gives off cloves, banana, and yeast.

The flavor follows the aroma, starting with a bit of lemony citrus, followed by a finish that is wheat, banana, and cloves (with emphasis on the cloves).  It's overall very mild and very easy to drink.  Definitely one of my favorite wheat beers.

RateBeer gives this one a 98 overall and a 97 for the style.  Beer Advocate gives it a 95 or "world-class" rating.

I had this particular beer on draft at The Winking Lizard Tavern on Bethel Road.  I've seen it for sale at Ale Wine and Spirits of Powell, Giant Eagle at Bethel and Sawmill, and Kenny Road Market.  Other products from the same brewery I've seen on the shelves at almost every local craft beer retailer I've visited.

ABV:  7.7%
IBU:  unknown, but below 20
My rating: 9/10

Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout (7/10)

The Winking Lizard Tavern features a World Beer Tour each year.  Patrons who drink beers which are part of the tour receive credit toward a prize.  The "big" prize is a jacket with the tour logo on it and an invitation to a party the following January.  Periodically during the year, they do "mini tours" and other special promotions which count toward the bigger tour.  In 2011, they offered a mini tour which consisted of a bottle of Kentucky Ale, a shot of Woodford Reserve Bourbon, and a bottle of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale.  You got to keep the Kentucky Ale and Woodford Reserve glasses as part of the deal.

It was a very neat experience to taste the Kentucky Ale, then take a sip of the bourbon, and notice the combination when you take a sip of the Bourbon Barrel Ale.  I have been a fan of both the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale and Woodford Reserve Bourbon.  When I learned that a Bourbon Barrel Stout had been released, I had to try it.

The Kentucky Ale crew did more than just brew a typical stout and age it in a bourbon barrel.  They brew the ale with coffee, and place Hatian coffee in the barrel with it when it's aged.

The aroma is mocha, leaning toward a rich dark coffee – which is no surprise.

The flavor is rich and malty at the start, then gives way to a wash of coffee and a molasses, ending with a slight sourness and bitterness.

On balance, I like it, but it's not my favorite.  The Bourbon Barrel Ale is much better.  If you're a fan of the Founder's Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS), you should definitely try this.  They're a lot alike to me.

In April, I had the opportunity to try the somewhat hard to get Founder's Kentucky Breakfast Stout.  To my tastebuds, Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout is extremely similar to that one.  Both have a strong coffee flavor.

I've seen this at several Columbus retailers, including Kroger, Giant Eagle, Kenny Road Market, and others.  If you are interested in it, you should have no trouble finding it.

ABV:  8%
IBU:  Unknown, best guess is 25-30
My Rating: 7/10